Tips & tricks on how to renew your Philippine passport

What a hassle it is to renew your Philippine passport
[Photo from www.outoftownblog.com]

The process of renewing a Philippine passport (or even getting one for the first time) changes from time to time, with new technology or perhaps because of technical glitches in the system.

Earlier today, I just wasted a whole day at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the Lucena City branch to have my passport renewed. But this is hardly a surprise. Being as it is a government-led procedure, I expected a lot of waiting, and waiting (and more waiting). Alas, I wasn't a bit disappointed!

The green passport will only be valid until the date stated in it. After that, everyone has to renew to the brown one.

From our hometown in Alaminos, Laguna (near San Pablo City), my mom and I went to the Pacific Mall (3rd floor) in Lucena, where we also got our very first passports five years ago. We got there at 8:45am and wasn't able to finish until about 3:30pm. What a waste of valuable time!

Anyhow, you'll learn more about our ordeal as you read along these simple tips and tricks which I hope will help you when it's your turn to renew yours. I really don't want you wasting your time like we did!

Photo from alxjm.com

1. Get there early, really early
          Apparently, when we got there at 8:45am, the first 100 forms have already been distributed to people who got there ahead of us. We were given the numbers 167 and 168. We were told that only the first 100 will be processed that morning. Numbers 101 onwards will begin at 1pm. If you're planning to go to the Lucena branch in Pacific Mall, I suggest you arrive there by 7am so you could finish everything by lunch time. The mall opens at 10am but the back door is open for the people who have to do transactions with the DFA.

2. Prepare to wait
          In short, my mom and I had to wait for more than 5 hours before our number were finally called at around 2:30pm. It would be great if you have something to fiddle with--a newspaper, a book, perhaps even video games, to while away time. Oh yeah, while food is available for purchase inside the mall, bringing food doesn't hurt.


3. Have your old passports photocopied
          Make sure you have a copy of the front and back of the passport you're about to renew. You can also opt to have them photocopied inside the DFA, while you wait for your turn to be called (P2.50 per copy). A friend advised us to photocopy identification cards but nobody asked to see other them.

Photo from ehow.com

4. Renew when you don't need your passport just yet
          Unfortunately, it takes 60 working days for the new passport to be processed. We were advised that applications and renewals submitted today (May 2) will be released on July 26. That's a pretty long time, considering that in America, you can renew your passports in postal offices in a jiffy! Pray that you wouldn't need to travel while the passport is being processed because you're basically grounded during that period.




5. Expect delays
          As if the 60 working days (weekends and holidays not included in the count) isn't long enough, expect our very reliable government arm to still fail to deliver when they say so. When we asked if it's 100% sure that our passports will be released on July 26, as they said, the officer can't give us a straight answer. While we were renewing our passports earlier, we overheard an old lady complaining that she hasn't still received her passport which was supposed to be delivered two weeks ago. Now, she can't attend the wedding in Singapore she was planning to. Tsk tsk!

6. Prepare P950 for processing fee; P120 for courier fee
          When I first got my passport five years ago, we only had to pay P500. Now that amount has doubled. Of course, they'll say it's for the new technology they acquired. Fair enough. But I think the P950 plus the additional P120 to have your passports delivered to your home is a bit too much. You can opt to just go back and pick-up your passports on the day of the release to save on courier fee, but for us who live 2 hours away from the mall, it's hardly practical to do so. 

7. No need to have pictures taken outside
          Gone are the days where you have to go to a studio to have your 1x1 or 2x2 photos taken in a polo shirt with collar; or your hair behind your ears. Nowadays, I suggest you bring make up to retouch when you renew your passports as the picture taking is now done digitally inside the processing area. They take a picture of you (haggard from all the waiting) using a low-quality camera, which is the one to appear on your passport. Fantastic!